Cap or cover.



J.`M. COLLINS.

GAP 0R COVER. APPLIGATION FILED 001226, 1909.

Patented Aug. 9, 1910.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN IVI. COLLINS,` OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NOR FORTY-FIVE ONE-HUNDREDTHS TO HERMAN GOEBEL, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAP OR COVER.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN M. CoLLTNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Caps or Covers, of which the following is a specification.

The cap or cover of the present invention is intended more particularly for use as a closure for a casing or conduit extending to a valve-controlling means located beneath the ground line.

The objects of the present invention are,

to construct a cap which will prevent the ingress of dirt to the pipe or conduit leading to the valve mechanism; which will not become loosened by ordinary usage; which will contain no parts liable to become rusty so as to prevent the removal of the cap, or which will become weakened and allow the cap to become displaced; which will indicate the position of the key on the valve; which will allow the cap to be seated so as to bring its upper edge on a level with the ground line; and which will be cheap and simple as well as durable and strong of con struction. i

In the regulating of the valve-controlling means located on gasor water feed pipes, it often happens that dirt having entered the casing or conduit will collect and become so compact around the valve that it is necessary to dig down and tear up the casing extending from the valve to the top of the ground, in order to get at the valve-controlling means to open or close the valve. This ingress of dirt is caused by the cap or cover of the member at the top of the pipe, known as the buffalo box, becoming loosened, and another difficulty that is experienced is that in inserting an instrument down into the casing to grip the key on the valve stem it is diflicult to determine how to lower this instrument so as to have the proper portion of it contact the key, the operator having no knowledge in which direction the key is lying, and must simply depend upon chance to get the instrument in proper position upon the key; and in all other caps or covers of which we are aware, that are used for this purpose, it is necessary, because of the manner in which the movable portion of the cap is pivoted to the fixed portion, that the cap be placed above the surface of the ground in order to operate the movable por- Specication of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 26, 1909.

Patented Aug'. 9, 1910.

Serial N o. 524,603.

tion, and with the cap in such position it is very likely to become struck and broken as well as creating an unsightly appearance in construction. 4.

The invention consists in the features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view showing a valve-controlling mechanism in position below the ground line, a pipe or conduit extending therefrom and having a cap or cover of the present invention in posi tion thereon; Fig. 2, a cross section of the cap, showing it in raised position in full lines, and in lowered position in dotted lines; Fig. 3, a plan view of the cap; and Fig. 1, a View showing the removable section taken off' and showing the relation between the recesses in the fixed section and the key on the valve-controlling mechanism.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a controlling valve 5 positioned upon a supply pipe 6, the valve stem 7 having secured thereon a key 8. Extending from the valve to a point slightly below the level of the ground is a pipe or conduit 9 screw-threaded at its upper edge 10 to receive the fixed section 11 of the cap or cover. The fixed section is in the form of a circular ring 12 formed with outwardly extending flanges 13 at its upper edge, which flange is cut away at points diametrically opposite from one another to form recesses 14E, the under face 15 of the flange being formed with oppositely inclined sloping surfaces 16 extending from either side of the recesses.

The removable section 17 of the cap or cover consists of an upper circular portion 18 having therein a recess 19 for the insertion of a tool, and depending from the upper circular portion is a neck 20 reduced in diameter with respect to the upper por tion, and formed on the bottom of the neck portion is an elongated lug 21, the ends 22 of which project slightly beyond the neck. In use, the ends 22 are inserted into the recesses 1li, and the removable section lowered into position for the upper edges of the projecting ends 22 to contact the sloping surfaces 16; and, as the surfaces are sloping in opposite directions from one another, the

'turning of the removable section will cause the projecting ends 22 of the lug to become wedged against the sloping surfaces and securely lock the removable section in place.

In placing the cap or cover in position, the recesses 1,4 can bel positioned to lie parallel with the key 8 on the valve stein 7 as shown in Fig. 4c; and the position of the recesses Will serve as an indicator to tell in which direction the key is lying, so that when a tool is inserted for gripping the key no trouble Will be experienced in inserting the tool to properly grip the key.

I claim:

A metallic closure Comprising a section screw-threaded onto a pipe surrounding a valve controlling mechanism, an inwardly extending flange formed on the section attl-Ched t0, the pipe, a removable section consisting of a top portion, a Contracted neck, and a lug formed on said neck, the ends of as described.

JOHN M. COLLINS. Witnesses EPHRAIM BANNING, WM. P, BOND. 

